Why

The issues facing current Java build tools:

1. No Official Build System: Java (OpenJDK) lacks an official build system, leading to fragmented, opinionated, and unversioned tools and learning materials, which complicates onboarding for beginners.

2. Slow Build Speeds: Maven and Gradle run significantly slower than the Java compiler, partly due to complex plugin systems and reflection-based dependency injection.

3. Weak Module System Support: Both tools struggle with Java’s module system, encountering bugs (e.g., Gradle’s NPE with module-info) and clashing with traditional project structures in modular environments.

4. Inconsistent Dependency Resolution: Dependency resolution and scoping vary across tools, often misaligned with Java’s module system.

5. Incremental Compilation Issues: Incremental compilation support is inconsistent, with IDEs like IntelliJ and Eclipse using their own approaches (e.g., IntelliJ’s wrapped Javac, Eclipse’s ECJ), while Maven has historically lagged in this area.

6. Maven Usability Challenges: Maven’s reactor model and partial rebuild commands (-pl, -rf) are cumbersome, though improvements are expected in Maven 4 with features like consumer-producer support.

7. Gradle Fragmentation: Gradle’s dual support for Groovy and Kotlin DSLs creates fragmentation, with Kotlin DSL limiting IDE options (primarily IntelliJ) and adding complexity for beginners.